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Violence in Iraq has fallen sharply in recent years but attacks continue

Three roadside bombs exploded Friday in quick succession at an outdoor pet market in Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 31 others, police officials said.

The bombings took place at a market where young men buy and sell pigeons in Husseiniya, a poor Shiite neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad. This type of market, popular in less affluent neighborhoods, tends to be very busy on Fridays.

In February 2008, 99 people were killed by bomb attacks at two other pet markets in Baghdad.

Daily violence has dropped drastically across Iraq since 2008, but sporadic attacks continue.

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A series of bomb and gun attacks have taken place in different Iraqi cities this week, including a blast in a popular restaurant in southeastern Baghdad on Thursday evening that killed three people and wounded 10 others.

In April, 126 people were killed in attacks across the country and 271 people were wounded.

That was higher than in March, which had the lowest monthly death toll for Iraqis since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, when only 112 people were killed.